A team of scientists from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology has developed a power enhancing suit reminiscent of Ironman and Robocop.

The suit is made up of metal and plastic that “boasts eight electric motors that amplify the strength of the wearer’s arms and legs, as well as sensors that can detect movements and respond to commands through a voice-recognition system.” Sounds nifty. The scientists claim that the suit can reduce the user’s physical effort by 62% on average and can take the strain off of bending the knees while crouching.

This power suit is scheduled to hit Japanese markets in 2012 after 15 years of development. The price? One million yen (over 10,000 USD). The developers hope the price will be cut in half once the suit is mass produced. Currently, there are no plans on an overseas release.

This is good news to those who have to do heavy lifting in their jobs (and could actually afford it). However, I can see a lot of people abusing this piece of technology for personal gain or just to goof around. Yup, I can already see the accidents occurring…

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